To Corruption
by Yrty
Summary: My thoughts on how Astraea's journey into the Valley of Defilement went, and some of the events leading up to it.


**Chapter 1: To Hell**

The smell of blood and death tinged the air around the gates to the Boletarian Palace as the sound of steel meeting steel bounced off the stone walls. Shouts and screams of agony flew through the air as holy knights from the Western Highlands flung themselves at the withered bodies of soulless, maddened dreglings, tearing through their flesh as knives bounced harmlessly off their armor. Dreglings fell one after the other, their corpses littering the ground as the company of knight pressed on, pushing their way inside the gates. The knights knew not of fear in this battle, for they were protected by God, and leading them to battle was none other than Aestra of the Sun, a hero of the Church of Umbasa. Clad in dull gold armor, his long sword gleaming with the same color as if he wielded a ray of sunlight, Aestra tore through the masses of dreglings, leaving their broken bodies strewn across the battlefield.

Passing through the gates, Aestra and his men gave pause, surveying the ruined area. Fires burned freely, and bloody corpses lined the path to the main portcullis, the signs of previous battles and the slaughter that followed evident on every inch of the path.

'By all that is holy...what manner of beast could have brought such destruction to such a proud kingdom?', Aestra thought to himself.  
Turning to his men, Aestra could tell that they were perturbed, though they did their best not to show it. It was an unpleasant scene, and one they had not been prepared for. Nonetheless, they had a job to do, and they had to hurry, before it was too late.

'If it isn't alread too late, that is.', Aestra thought to himself, before shaking his head and steeling himself for what was to come. Raising his sword, he began to speak, attempting to restore the morale of his troops.

"My men, our victory at the gates has earned us a grave sight indeed. However, we cannot allow this to dissuade us from our mission. The people of this town were, nay, are our allies, and we cannot leave them to fall victim to whatever unholy beings did this", he gestured toward the destruction on the pathway, "to them. Ahead, our brothers await us. They braced themselves and moved through this madness, so must we! There may yet still be survivors, and there may yet be a town to save beyond this portcullis. Fight with conviction and do not fear, for God is with us! He has blessed our blades and our shields so that we may help our friends, and stop whatever vile force has brought so much pain to this place. Take up your arms, and let us carry out His will. Umbasa."  
For a moment they remained unmoved. Soon though, their eyes sharpened, and their resolve hardened, and they were again marching toward the portcullis at the end of the path with renewed strength, as if they could feel God moving alongside them.

As they grew near, they could make out another group of soldiers, the first company of knight sent in, lead by Vito, the Moonlight Knight. Quickening their pace, they quickly met up with the group at the rendeavous point.

Noticing their arrival, Vito took a step forward and embraced Aestra, before taking a step back and placing his hands on Aestra's shoulders.

"It's good to see you could make it, my brother.", he said.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world, Vito. After all, it is one of God's teachings to help those in need, is it not?", Aestra replied with a smile.

"That it is, brother, that it is!" Vito laughed in response. "However, I'm afraid we shall have no time for a celebration of reunion. The inner ward lies beyond the cliff pathway past the portcullis, and we spect that is where the survivors must have fled to. The pathway will likely be heavily guarded, and we will have to move quickly."

Aestra thought for a moment, looking over his men. Turning back to Vito, he asked, "Have you not found any survivors yet, then? Have you found any indications of survivors ar all? This place raises too many questions."

Vito sighed, and glanced around before taking Aestra's arm and leading him away from the throng of soldier's, standing to the side to talk more privately.

"This whole thing has a bad taste, Aestra. Not only have their been no survivors, there hasn't been so much as a clue as to what could have caused such destruction. And the portcullis being wide open? I doubt that is mere luck.", said Vito.

"You expect a trap." It wasn't a question.

Vito sighed again. "Yes, I believe we are being lead into a trap."

"By who?"

"I haven't the faintest idea. But there's only one way to find out."

"You're not suggesting that we-"

"I am. We spring the trap.", Vito said, smiling in a rather grim manner. "You should have your men hang back while I take my company to the cliff pathway. If all is well, I shall send a man back to fetch you. If not, we shall signal you, and you will go straight back to the church and inform them of what has happened here."

"Go back?", Aestra almost shouted. Checking to make sure they had not gathered too much attention, he calmed himself and continued. "We cannot simply leave you here to fend off whatever trap they may have waiting for you alone, Vito. You are a remarkable soldier, and a true follower, but you are not invincible."

"That is why you must go back, Aestra. We cannot afford to both die here. If I am caught in a trap, then someone else must go back to the church in my stead. Besides, how bad could it be?"

Aestra was not fooled by Vito's lightheartedness, but he knew that he was right. The church had to know.

"Very well, Vito. But as soon as the church is informed, I'll be coming right back for you, understand?, Aestra said firmly, his face grim.

The man simply smiled back at him, though it never reached his eyes.

"Take care of yourself, Vito. I mean it."

But Vito was already heading back to his troops, and so Aestra followed suit.

* * *

The trip through the portcullis was a short one, and Vito and his men soon found themselves looking out over the cliff pathway.

"Dorl, come here.", Vito called.

Within moments, his lieutenant was by his side.

"Yes sir, what is it?", he asked.

Vito was silent for a moment, as if deep in thought. When he finally spoke, his voice was grim.

"There is something wrong here, Dorl. Very wrong. There should be a hundred men guarding this pathway, yet there isn't so much as a single dregling. Be prepared for anything."

"Aye sir. I'll make sure the men stay on guard."

"Very good. You are dismissed."

As Dorl nodded and walked away, shouting to the men to check their equipment and be alert, Vito ran a hand through his raven hair.

'This...cannot end well.', he thought to himself. 'Nonetheless, we cannot simply leave while there could be survivors trapped in this nightmare. These are our friend, and we must do whatever we can for them.'

"Onward, men. May God watch over us. Umbasa."

And with that small prayer they were off, traversing the ominous pathway that was laid out before them. They turned their heads from one direction to the other, always watching for signs of enemy movements, or an indication of surviving citizens.  
There was nothing.  
Upon reaching the first bulwark, the forces split up, sending half the men into the tunnel below the pathway to search for survivors, with Dorl at the helm. Vito remained above, leading his mean toward the inner ward, past the final bulwark. Vito and his mean moved past the first bulwark, moving into the middle section of the pathway. The increased length was obvious, and did not go unnoticed. It served only to set the holy warriors farther on edge. If there was a trap to be sprung, it would be here. WIth their wits about them, they moved with caution. And when Vito listened closely, he thought he could hear the sounds of battle below them.

'Dorl will have to manage. We must carry out our mission up here.', Vito thought grimly.

They were only halfway down when hell broke out.

There was a sound like rushing wind, and then there was a scream of sheer terror. And as one by one, the men looked upward, their own voices joined in as they broke their ranks and began to flee back the way they came, while some sprinted forward, trying to reach the next bulwark. As they fled around him, Vito shouted, calling back those who ran forward- but it was too late.  
The dragon swooped down, exhaling flames on the man at the fore-front, and halting the men behind. They turned to run back, but the dragon was already there, claws gripping the pathway, sending chunks of stone tumbling down. A few men were crushed when it landed. The next was scooped up in its jaws, impaled by innumerable teeth. The next put up more of a fight, attempting to hold the dragon's jaws open with his halberd. The men watching could have sworn that it almost seemed as if the dragon smiled when he did this, and heated its breath so that his armor scorched, cooking him inside before. As his brothers died around him, he never stopped screaming. As the dragon tore through the men in front of it, Vito drew his sword; a shining, blue sword that appeared to be made of crystal. He began to rush forward, but a hand on his should stopped him.  
Turning quickly, Vito was met by Dorl, who was bloodied, and had a number of new marks on his armor. Dorl pulled Vito back, eyes darting everywhere, looking for enemies as he shouted over the sound of the dragon roaring and slaughtering.

"We must retreat, Sir Vito! We are no match for a dragon. Even now the men are holding off those accursed dreglings at the first bulwark. And the Boletarian soldiers, sir! They've gone stark raving mad! We must fall back, else the others shall falter, and we will all be dead!", he shouted.

"These men need our assistance, Dorl! We cannot just lea-", Vito began, but he was cut off by the dragon spewing forth another jet of flame. Both men tried to ignore the agonized screaming coming from the burning men, but it was no use: it was as if the dragon simply wanted them to suffer.

"There is no time, Sir Vito! We must retreat now!"

Vito knew he was right. They were not prepared to fight off a dragon. He uttered a quick prayer for the dying men, turned, and took flight. They reached the bulwark without much trouble, as the dragon was clearly preoccupied. However, it was by no means a pleasant sight. There were corpses littering the stairs and ground, and the walls glistened with blood that slipped and dripped down to the ground, forming pools around unmoving, lifeless bodies. The survivors were a flurry of motion, cutting down dregling after dregling and tossing the corpses aside, sometimes tossing still-living ones off the side, sending them plummeting to their deaths below.  
However, Dorl had spoken true, and the Boletarian soldiers fought alongside them, pushing the holy warriors back and back, piercing their armor easily whenever they had the opening to do so, never missing a chance even in their deranged state.

"Men! Fall back, we must get past the portcullis!", Vito shouted to them as he arrived. "We cannot waste any time, move! Get through the portcullis, find the lever, and close the gate!"

The warriors holding the dreglings back broke off, dashing across the pathway and back to the portcullis. As they fell back Vito rushed forward with his sword in hand cutting down two dreglings attempting to give chase. A third fell to Dorl's halberd.

"Dorl, did you not hear me? I said to fall back!", Vito shouted as he ripped his blade from the body of a dregling and spun to decapitate another.

"Forgive me sir, but I can't very well leave you to hold off an army and a dragon on your own. I shall remain by your side until we are both through the portcullis.", came his reply.

Vito gritted his teeth and spun again, slashing open two dreglings who simply moaned loudly and flaied as their intestines fell out of their stomachs. He turned on his heel, catching the sword of one of the Boletarian soldiers with his own blade. Up close, he could see the madness in his eyes, almost a sort of hunger for something unknown. Wasting no time, Vito threw the soldier off his sword and impaled him, kicking the body off his sword as he turned and sliced through another dregling's face, spilling blood and gray matter across the ground.  
At the same time, Dorl was at his commander's back, keeping the dreglings at bay with long, sweeping attacks with his halberd. As he pulled his halberd back, a group of dreglings rushed forward, attempting to take advantage of the temporary withdrawl of the halberd.  
Moving quickly, Dorl backstepped, shooting the halberd straight out and impaling one of the dreglings through the eye. With a twist of his arm and a flick of his wrist, Dorl pulled the halberd free, took another step back, and turned his body around, swinging his halberd out at the last moment to decapitate both dreglings. Finishing his spin, he looked over his shoulder in time to turn and catch a soldier's axe with the pole of his halberd. Sliding his hands up the shaft, Dorl twisted the halberd, slamming the butt-end into the side of the soldier's head, before adjusting his grip again and bringing the blade down and splitting the man's head open.

As they fought, both men continued to move backward toward the portcullis. It was only when the first crossbowmen appeared that they ceased fighting and ran. Entering the portcullis though, they could already hear the sounds of fighting on the other side.

_'Aestra! Brother, please be safe!'_, Vito thought to himself. Uttering another prayer, Vito pushed himself to run faster. _'Almost there...almost...Aestra, where are you? There!' _Vito almost shouted with joy as he saw his brother's golden armor as he fought off dreglings and soldier's alike, casting Miracles whenever it seemed that his forces might be overwhelmed. He rushed forward, cutting down several dreglings and soldier's when he reached his brother. With Vito and his men's arrival, the holy warriors began to push forward, gaining ground and getting ever closer to the gates to the kingdom.  
Then one of the soldier's noticed something, and started shouting.

"Sirs! The walls! They're moving!"

Vito and Aestra broke off from their combat, and looked at the walls. The warrior was half right, at least. The walls themselves weren't moving, but something was definitely seeping from the cracks and crevices.

"What in God's name...?", Vito began, but found himself unable to finish.

As they watched, the mess fell upon the floor with a sort of ploop! sound. The black goop seemed to gather itself, pulling itself into a sort of lump shape, while stones seemed to push their way out of its body, forming a shield where, Vito assumed, its face would be. The worst part, however, was the spear it created on its side. As more and more formed, the blobs slowly turned toward the battle.

And then the spears flew.

* * *

Okay, so. First story, was going to be longer, but I decided I should just submit this first and see how it goes over. Criticism of all kinds welcome, especially if you have anything to say about the paragraphs. Those tripped me up a bit more than I had expected. And yes, the timeline does seem to be a bit screwy with this. They probably should have known about the demon's and the scourge already, but I'm treating this and the next chapter as a sort of prologue, so there's most likely going to be a bit of a time-skip in here. And, in my defense, it's never really stated _when_ Vallarfax breaks through the fog, or what happened in the early days of said fog. For the sake of the story, let's all just pretend that the demon's were running around a bit before the fog completely consumed the Boletarian Palace. ^^


End file.
